~ Author~

The words hang in the air.

"They've taken her. Miss Elara—she's disappeared. The Alphas got to her first."

Silence tightens within the dining hall like a knife. The guard stands there, his chest heaving rapidly. The other servants are caught halfway through a step.

Kai does not move. He just sits there, that crease of a smile refusing to fade. Then, with slow, deliberate movement, he sets his fork on the table.

"I see," he says calmly, voice even. "And how did that ...